Border Crossing

From now on, Border Crossing will post news updates, features on contributors, and reviews by our interns on our blog. (Sept. 23, 2013)

News Archive

Vol. 3 author statistics by gender (Sept. 18, 2013)

Last year, in response to the VIDA count, our fiction and poetry editorial board began reading general submissions blind as part of an effort to ensure that our submissions process resulted in an equitable number of male- and female- identifying authors. (Volume 2 did not include as many women writers as we would have liked.) In addition to looking for the very best writing, we have also always looked for work that crosses boundaries in genre and geography, and voices that aren't often heard in mainstream publications. Our new editorial process resulted in a 68% female issue for Volume 3. The breakdown by genre is as follows:

Visual art: 100% female (1 featured artist)

Fiction: 60% female (5 writers, 2 male, 3 female)

Nonfiction: 50% female (4 writers, 2 male, 2 female)

Poetry: 70% female (20 poets, 14 female, 6 male)

Unsolicited submissions for Volume 4 in poetry and fiction will be read using the same process as last year, except for our Michigan and Ontario writers feature, which will use a somewhat different process. We remain committed to publishing voices that aren't often heard in mainstream publications.

Vol. 3 launch party scheduled for October 10, 2013 at Bayliss

Save the date! The reading and art exhibition is scheduled for 7 pm. More information to come!

Vol. 3 Update (July 8, 2013)

All submissions for volume 3 have been considered; acceptances and rejections have been sent. Volume 3 is in production and due out this fall. Thanks to all the authors and artists who submitted such fine work!

Congratulations to our 2012-2013 interns (June 6, 2013)

2012-2013 interns Laura Gamble, John Keller, Janessa Stutz, and Adam Uhrig are currently being featured on the LSSU website.

2013 Cover Art Contest Closed (April 2, 2013)

Our reading period for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for our Fall 2013 issue is now closed.

Pushcart nominations for 2012 (Nov. 30, 2012)

During the past several weeks, our six-person editorial board, comprised of current student interns and faculty supervisors, has had the pleasure of reading through vol. 2 of Border Crossing and deliberating on Pushcart nominations for 2012. Today, we sent our official letter with the following nominations:

Online sales open (Nov. 15, 2012)

The deadline for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has been extended to January 15, 2013, due to the delay in getting volume 2 from the printer, and the delay in beginning online sales due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. We are working with our distributor to begin online sales of volume 2 as soon as possible. Please bear with us while their IT office recovers from Hurricane Sandy, and either order volume 2 using the telephone number on the order a copy page or check back soon for online sales to begin. For now, you can order copies of volume 2 by phone following the directions here.

This year's theme for cover art submissions will be "fire." In order to have your work considered for the cover art contest, which will be judged by prominent U.P. artist (to be announced), please submit work inspired by, or work which inspires reflection upon, this theme. The first prize winner will have his or her work appear on the cover and receive an installation and showing of his or her artwork during the second issue's launch party and reading. Any medium is welcome, as long as the digital representation you submit here can be featured on our black and white cover. This digital representation should be a high resolution scan or photograph of your piece as a .gif or .jpg. To enter, you must be a resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula or neighboring Ontario. (If your work was published in the previous year's journal, please wait a year before resubmitting.)

For general publication in the journal, apart from the cover art contest, we are open to considering any submissions of visual art from artists residing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula or neighboring Ontario. (Again, if your work was published in the previous year's journal, please wait a year before resubmitting.) Please note that the inside pages are printed in black and white, and your submission should work in that medium.

The deadline for both cover and general art submissions will be February 15. Submit a high resolution scan or photograph of your piece as a .gif or .jpg.

Please specify whether your art submission is on the "fire" or "general" theme when you submit.

Launch party to be held Thursday, Nov. 8 at Bayliss (Oct. 31, 2012)

We are excited to announce the arrival of the second issue of Border Crossing. Please join us for the launch party, which will take place at Bayliss Public Library in Sault Sainte Marie, MI on Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 pm.

Printer to ship copies October 30, 2012 (Oct. 22, 2012)

The final proof has been approved and the printer has scheduled a ship date of Tuesday, October 30. Copies should go up for sale online and be mailed to contributors soon after our receipt of them. The launch party is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 8!

Estimated release date for Vol. 2: October 22, 2012 (Oct. 1, 2012)

Today we received a proof from our printer! The estimated release date for Vol. 2 is October 22, 2012.

Vol. 2, Fall 2012 issue in production (Aug. 26, 2012)

The layout for the Fall 2012 issue is complete and has been sent to the graphics office for production! Below is a sneak preview of the front and back cover. To view the masthead and selected excerpts, click Current and Past Issues to the left. We are very excited about the quality and quantity of the submissions we received for this issue, and our students did a wonderful job at helping us select and edit work for publication. For the Fall 2012 issue, our acceptance rates hovered around 4%, with the nonfiction acceptance rate at 4.6%, the short story acceptance rate at 3.9%, and the poem acceptance rate at 3.8%. As soon as we have copies to sell, we will post news about our fall launch party and directions for online purchase.

Layout for Vol. 2, Fall 2012 issue in progress (June 26, 2012)

We are currently laying out Vol. 2, forthcoming this fall! It's going to be an amazing issue, featuring some very talented U.P. artists and writers (including two LSSU students!) alongside a number of national and international writers.

Cover art by Jennifer Ganzhorn, LSSU student

Submissions for art have closed. (Feb. 16, 2012)

Thank you to all the wonderful artists who sent their work!

Vol. 1, Spring 2011 issue reviewed on New Pages (Feb. 15, 2012)

A huge thanks to all of the writers who submitted during the last three months. We have been surprised by the number and diversity of submissions, from all over the world. If you haven't heard from us yet, please be patient. We are a small journal, with a small staff, and it is taking some time to properly review so many submissions. Our editorial board is working hard to finish making decisions within the next month. Please keep an eye out for announcements of future reading periods; we plan to begin reading for our next issue in early fall.

Reading period for the 2012 issue begins today! (Oct. 31, 2011)

Launch party a success (Oct. 11, 2011)

We had an amazing turnout for the launch party celebrating the release of our inaugural issue. Student editors Eric Cairns and Jane Buckanaga Picotte joined faculty editors Julie Brooks Barbour and Mary McMyne in welcoming the following readers:

Sarah Becks

Aaron Fader

Dorothy Brooks

Alex Chornyj

Eric Gadzinski

Thanks to those in the Sault Sainte Marie and Upper Peninsula Michigan area who joined us for this event. For more information on these writers or to read their work, order a copy.